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2nd Annual Venture Capital Event
Central Coast Capital Network

March 18, 2008
San Luis Obispo

Photos  |  Presenting Companies  |  Showcase Companies  |  Fast Pitch Winners  |  Judges 

Event Sponsors  |  Download Documents

The EVC held its 2nd Annual Venture Capital Event in partnership with Golden Capital Venture Communities on March 18, 2008.

The event featured keynote speaker Bill Reichert of Palo Alto-based Garage Technology Ventures. The topic of his talk was The Future of Innovation: The New Rules for Entrepreneurs and Investors. Mr. Reichert drew upon his experience as an entrepreneur, executive, and venture capitalist to provide real-world practical insight on the simple but critical steps necessary to start and grow a successful company. Held at the Alex Madonna Expo Center in San Luis Obispo, the event followed a similar format by the EVC in March of 2007. The Master of Ceremonies was again King Lee, CEO of General LED. 

“We are pleased that the event was twice as large this year. Because angel investor groups or venture capital companies do not have a strong presence in this County, the event provides local entrepreneurs with the opportunity to meet investors from all over the state, and helps to educate entrepreneurs about finding capital.”, said Michael Manchak, President of the EVC. Manchak also said “The event has a direct, positive impact on providing what would otherwise be a key missing resource for the business community. It provides connections for entrepreneurs throughout the year and is critical to providing access to capital for small and medium businesses. Without this resource, entrepreneurs would spend more time and resources trying to find investors in larger cities.”

“The Madonna Inn finds great value in being an EVC sponsor and we believe in its mission and we are pleased to host the annual venture capital event at the Alex Madonna Expo Center.  Our sponsorship helps local companies find capital and improves our local economy, and continues to improve the quality of life on the central coast.” said Clint Pearce, Real Estate Manager for Madonna Enterprises. 
“We benefited greatly by participating in last year’s event by going through the presentation process”, said Ed Stevens, CEO of San Luis Obispo-based Shopatron. “The event got us focused on funding and in October 2007 we were able to obtain $6 million of funding from Kern Whelan Capital.” The company’s president, Brian Clausen, spoke at the event and described how the EVC’s previous event helped the company become more successful and launch its capital campaign. It employs 68 people. 

Presenting Companies
Local businesses presenting at the event included:

Flight Sciences, a developer of fuel efficient passenger airplanes

Fleet Management Solutions, a GPS technology company that tracks corporate vehicles globally

AeroMech Engineering, maker of unmanned surveillance airplanes

HauteSpot Networks, a maker of digital video technologies

Invental Laboratory, a producer of vaccum seal food saver

elementsLocal, an interactive web agency providing online marketing tools

AgriWorld Exchange, an eCommerce trading platform for distributing locally grown produce

Revolution Electric Cars, a seller of environmentally-friendly electric cars.

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Showcase Companies
Local companies showcased their businesses with displays.  Companies inlude:

Clippers Barber Shop

GoodYum

Heartwood Drums

LapDome

LiveFile

Niites

Personal Poker Club

Second Ventures

SLO Chai

SLO Golf Solutions

West Coast Housing

Life Elements

DigaL!FE

Property Ferret

Straight Down Fabrications

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Fast Pitch Winners
Congratulations to the following winners!

     

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Judges Panel
Judges were from the following venture capital firms:


ROUND TWO PANEL                                             ROUND ONE PANEL

Edward Messman, Managing Director	Bill Reichert, Managing Director
John Glanville, General Partner	Dan Lankford, Managing Director
Oleg Kaganovich, Principal	Don Maruska, President and CEO
	Geringer & Associates, Inc.
Gerry Frigon, President and Chief Investment Officer	J. Michael Geringer, CEO

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Event Sponsors

 Thank you to our event sponsors for helping to launch a successful event!

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